2012

Carbon fiber is seen by many in the auto industry as one of the most effective ways of reducing vehicle weight and thus improving fuel economy and emissions levels, but the relative expense of the material means that it’s still reserved for only a handful of high-end production cars. BMW has...

Are you on Facebook? If you aren’t, then you might be missing out. MINI has their own official Facebook Fan Page for people around the world to “like” MINI and currently it shows that 441,716 people have signed up. Pretty impressive considering Facebook is really something that...

As any gadget geek will tell you, the electronics retailer Best Buy is a great place to get everything from the latest windscreen televisions and kitchen appliances through to electric bicycles and even in select stores, the 2011 Brammo Enertia. We already know how switched onto electric cars Best...

With the media kerfuffle surrounding the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and anticipation mounting for 2011 Nissan Leaf customers, it's easy to forget that there are other electric cars out there. Even successful ones, it seems. Swedish electric city car maker THINK are more than 20 years old and have just...

Audi is hopping onto the electrified vehicle bandwagon with plans for a new range of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and all-electric luxury vehicles and sports cars in the coming years. Following the lead of parent company Volkswagen, Audi is striving to become the leader for alternative-powered vehicles...

Mercedes-Benz and BMW are both working on a new generation of front-wheel drive compact cars complete with four-cylinder and alternative powertrains, advanced composite construction and soaring fuel economy numbers. However, more often than not, we customers in the U.S. can only dream of such...

If you are in the market for a small car, but still want some of the comforts and whiz-bang features of a more expensive luxury car, then Ford may have just what you are looking for. Ford has published through Twitter via Scribd.com a Focus Technology Rebate program. All you have to do is print it...

"Racing improves the breed". So said the late Soichiro Honda, believing that the lessons learned on the racing cars and motorcycles could be used to improve the marque's road vehicles. The evidence is plain to see. Technologies such as anti-lock brakes, traction control, unibody chassis...

Despite the hype and the near-ubiquity of the Toyota Prius (pictured), most Americans remain leery of buying alternative-fuel vehicles. That’s probably because they don’t have the basic knowledge to understand it, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive. The survey...

New York City has one of the best mass transit systems of any major metropolis. But the City itself is still noisy, polluted and congested. The first two may soon be eased, thanks to continuing work from New York’s Power Authority (NYPA), which showcased a range of all-electric and hybrid...

Electric cars need to be recharged, obviously. How car companies choose to provide the all-new equipment to do that varies significantly among makers. For its upcoming 2012 Ford Focus Electric, Ford just jumped out ahead of the car to announce that it will provide what it calls a "convenience cord"...

When it comes to advanced powertrains, most of the automotive sector has congregated around hybrid and electric technology such as parallel hybrids, range-extended electric vehicles or pure electrics. However, just a few years back, several automakers, such as Volkswagen, General Motors and...

If you are fans of The Amazing Race, then you are going to have to mark your calendars for the debut of a new kind of reality television series from the same creators. Ford announced this week that they are teaming up with the creators of The Amazing Race — Bertram van Munster and Elise...

The new compact sedan from Buick is expected to be built in Michigan, and General Motors is preparing to announce the vehicle tomorrow at a press conference in its home state. The 2012 Buick Verano will be an upgraded version of the Chevrolet Cruze sedan, which is new for 2011. The Verano exists...

What happens when mysterious masked racing driver of the U.K’s most famous car-based entertainment show reveals his identity? Contrary to the opinions aired on the testosterone-filled, gear jamming show he actually quite likes electric cars, and he's not been afraid to share his admiration...

Cape Town in South Africa has just hosted the end of a journey of almost 2,500 miles on solar, hydrogen or electric power. The race, the South African 2010 Solar Challenge, was won by Japan's Tokai Challenger, a solar-powered vehicle with a top speed of 100mph which has previously won the 2009...

Endurance racing has more than its share of heartbreak. For Porsche Motorsport, this weekend's Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta provided sweet relief to a galling memory: Its unique 911 GT3 R Hybrid race car retired less than two hours before the checkered flag during May's 24 Hours of Nurburgring...

This year has been full of excitement for Ford, especially with the much-anticipated launch of the 2011 Ford Fiesta. Quite a car it is too, but now we are setting our sights on the Fiesta’s next of kin, the 2012 Ford Focus. According to the press release from Ford, the all-new for 2012 Ford...

The 2010 Paris Motor Show is upon us and amongst the supercars and superminis lie a veritable feast of electric vehicles. Whilst we've known about many of the cars due to be shown for a little while now, for many it will be the first opportunity to see the newest EV concepts and production cars up...

Sometimes we avoid covering certain cars, for good reasons or not. One of those cars is the 2011 Wheego LiFe, a derivative of the 2009 Wheego Whip. Never heard of it? Not surprising. Wheego Electric Cars is a startup electric-car company, in this case selling an electric conversion of a...